Al Capone
Uploaded by rinaldo420 on Mar 25, 2001
The Rise and Fall of Al CaponeAlphonse Capone was born in New York City by two parents Gabriel and Teresa Capone. Capone's parents immigrated to the United States in 1893 from Naples, Italy. Capone came from a large family and was the fourth oldest of nine children. (Kobler 10). As a child, Capone was very wise when it came to living on the streets of New York. He had a clever mind when it came to knowing his environment. Capone was not very bright when it came to school. Capone was an illiterate. He came from a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn, so education was not a priority.
At about the age of eleven Capone became a member of a juvenile gang in his neighborhood. Al Capone's philosophy was that laws only applied to people who had enough money to live by them. The name of the gang Capone became a member of was called the “Bim Booms” gang. In this gang, Capone was taught how to defend himself with a knife, and with a gun. By the time Capone reached the sixth grade he had already become a street brawler. Capone never responded well to authority and for this very reason his schooling would soon come to an end. While attending school, Capone was responsible for beating a female teacher and knocking her to the ground. The principal of the school rushed in and punished young Capone and for this very reason he would never return to school again. (Sifakis 603)
After dropping out of school, Capone took up jobs such as working as a pin-setter at a bowling alley, and working behind the counter at a candy store. Capone was terrific at pool, winning every eightball tournament held in Brooklyn. He also became an expert knife fighter. Although the “Bim Booms” gang was the first gang Capone ever entered, he was quickly picked up by the “Five Pointers”. The “Five Pointers” was the most powerful gang in New York city. The gang was headed by Johnny Torrio, and was made up of over 1,500 thugs who specialized in burglary, extortion, robbery, assault, and murder. While working as a strong arm enforcer under Torrio, Capone learned all the lethal tricks that would help him reach a pinnacle point in organized crime. Capone was very grateful to Torrio. Torrio first set Capone out to do all of his “dirty work”. Capone was...